Hell & Heaven a sequel to Savior
by Alianne-Carebear
Summary: This is happening about 10 months to a year after the end of Savior. Haily is a stronger angel than she used to be and she just got 1 year older. But problems are never far in Mystic Falls and, this time, they are coming from closer than she'd think.
1. Prologue

_So here we are, barely a few days after the end of Savior. I'm glad that pretty much all my regular reviewers asked me to write a sequel to Savior. So here it is._

_This sequel takes place about 10 months to a year after the end of Savior. Klaus is dead and not coming back. So is Elijah. Stefan and Katherine are together. Damon and Elena too. Jenna is back from the deads and living the almost perfect romance with Alaric. Caroline and Tyler have been together for a few months. Jeremy and Bonnie are still together (much to my dismay, may I had...). And, with all this romance around her, Haily is still single, but having fun with everyone._

_**Disclaimer:** As always, The Vampire Diaries is not mine. It was L.J. Smith's (and apparently now Harper Collin's... _**:(**_ ) and the TV show is Kevin Williamson's and Julie Plec's. (Though if anyone is willing to give me Damon or Jeremy, I'm totally open to it!) As for the story, it is mine._

_Enjoy!  
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><p><em><strong>Hell &amp; Heaven (A sequel to Savior)<strong>_

Prologue

-What does oxygen mixed with hydrogen make?

She shrugged, closing her eyes to concentrate a little bit more.

-Hm... an explosion?

He sighed and showed her the book he had in his hands.

-Are you even studying?

She sighed so loud it almost sounded like a growl.

-Yes! And I hate science! It just doesn't make any sense! When in my life will I have to experience what oxygen and hydrogen make?

-Any time you're in contact with water. H2O, remember?

With another sigh, she took the book and shot it across the room.

-I need some air.

She hurried out of the room, eager to breathe some fresh air. As she turned the corner of the hallway that led to the living room, she stopped dead in her tracks. In front of her, 9 people were placing gifts and decorations around. They stopped when they saw her. She opened her mouth to speak, but they spoke in unison first.

-HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAILY!

She grinned from ear to ear and jumped in the arm of the first man near her.

-I can't believe you planned this! Damon, you are the best!

Damon hugged her. He looked over her head as soon as she let go of him.

-It would have gone better if Stefan had been a better tutor and kept you from running out of the study.

Haily's smile faded a bit.

-Don't blame him. Science is dumb.

-Science is great, you just don't know what water is made of.

She turned around and tried to punch Stefan in the stomach, but he stepped to side and gripped her arm playfully, using her speed against her. In a second, he was behind her, still gently gripping her arm to keep her from getting away.

-And I win once again. What is it now, 300 to 0?

She growled, but she was sincerely glad of how the day was turning.

They ate the cake, which was surprisingly good, considering it had been made by a vampire. She then opened her presents.

She got a gift-certificate for clothes from Katherine, an E-Reader from Stefan, a pair of shoes – which she'd been dreading for in the last weeks – from Elena, a Victoria Secret outfit that made her blush from Caroline, a t-shirt _Be nice, I'm friend with wolves_ from Tyler, a magic ointment from Bonnie, a sacred pocket knife from Alaric and a limited edition Twilight necklace from Jenna. This last one made all the guys in the room sigh in disappointment.

-Now, it's my turn.

Damon took out a small squared box from the table behind the couch. Haily lifted an eyebrow as she saw it.

-An engagement ring? You want to make Elena jealous, or what?

Everyone in the room laughed. They knew how much Damon and Elena loved each other and there was no way either of them had any chance of running away with someone else in the immediate future.

-Just open it, crazy.

She unwrapped the ribbon and gently lifted the top of the box. With a gasp, she looked at the key that was lying there. It was reflecting the light coming from the window and it had the Mitsubishi logo on it. She looked back up at Damon.

-No. You didn't... You didn't...

-Yes, I did.

-What is it?

Bonnie leaned toward her to see the key. She was almost knocked out by Haily, when the birthday girl suddenly flew on her feet and raced to hug Damon once again. She then turned toward everyone else to scream her delight.

-Damon bought me a Mitsubishi Lancer!

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><p><em>For those who don't know what a Mitsubishi Lancer looks like, a picture will be posted in my profile.<em>

_You know I love when you review, so feel free to do it!  
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	2. Trouble is never far

_A new chapter is here! I didn't think I'd have time this week-end to write the first official chapter of Hell & Heaven, but I did (Woohoo!)_

_There's a part of this chapter that might remind you of something you've already read. I count on you to find it (it's not that hard to find, actually)._

_Enjoy your read, I'll ''see'' you again at the end of this chapter.  
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><p><span>Chapter 1: Trouble is never far<span>

It had been two days since her birthday. Haily was happily driving to school in her brand new Mitsubishi Lancer. In the past two days, she'd been driving around the town, finding every possible reason to use her bright blue car.

She found a parking spot far enough from the other cars, so that no one would scratch her beloved Lancer. She collected her books and walked to the table where she usually met Jeremy and Bonnie every morning. As it was, Jeremy was alone at the table that morning. He looked up at her as she got near.

-Good morning!

He smiled at her enthusiasm.

-You're still not over the happiness of owning the car of your dreams, uh?

She nodded enthusiastically as she sat across the picnic table. She looked around before setting her sight back on him.

-Where Witchy?

She had started to call Bonnie like that after Klaus' death. At first, the witch didn't like it, but she'd eventually grown to accept it. Especially since Haily had no intention of stopping calling her like that.

-She had a cheerleading meeting with Caroline.

Haily nodded, biting her bottom lip to keep herself from saying something mean. She wasn't one to like cheerleaders. They were good dancers, but she didn't quite understand why they needed to wear those tiny skirts and tops if they were athletes. Uniform were great, when they hid more than they show.

Jeremy glared at her, daring her to say something mean about his girlfriend. After a few seconds, though, he smiled and took a long box from his schoolbag.

-Here. You were so excited about your new car Saturday that I decided to wait before giving you this.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Haily loved gifts and, coming from Jeremy, she could bet she would love what was inside the box.

She opened the box slowly. She was eager to see her gift, but she also wanted to savor the moment. She was so rarely alone with Jeremy that she wanted the moment to be as long as possible. As she completely lifted the top of the box, she saw what was wrapped inside: a silver necklace with a rectangle piece of jade hanging from it. The piece of jade seemed to have some words carved in it. As Haily looked closer, Jeremy explained the meaning of the words.

-It's a protection prayer in Latin. It's not much, but I figured it might be useful with all the weird things constantly happening in Mystic Falls.

Haily looked up from the necklace.

-Like the Japanese fox demons we fought six months ago?

During the Christmas break, the town had been attacked by some kind of fox demons. They had been almost killed by them, until they found a special spell and a few magic weapons to save the day.

Jeremy nodded; remembering the tough times he'd been forced to hide in the house, since he had no special powers. At the time, he thought he would go crazy if he had to endure one more day inside the safety of the Salvatore boarding house, while everyone else was out fighting the demons. After that, he had decided to ask Alaric to teach him a few tricks about fighting demons. Since then, he'd learned a lot and was now frequently fighting with the rest of the gang, much to Elena and Bonnie's dismay. Haily was also anxious about his safety during fights, but she decided to simply watch his back, instead of making a scene every time he wanted to fight with them.

She looked down at the pendant, tears sparkling at the corner of her eyes. She laughed bitterly and tried to keep them inside, but they glided down her cheeks. Jeremy went to sit beside her.

-Hey, what's wrong? You don't like it? 'Cause I'm sure I can find another stone just as good for protection.

He wasn't quite sure he could, but he would say anything to stop those tears. He hated when she cried. It wasn't that she was ugly, because she was still breathtakingly beautiful, but she looked so vulnerable he was afraid someone would appear and break her.

She sniffed, laughing once again at the mess she must look like.

-I'm sorry. I have no valuable reason to cry.

He lifted her chin with his fingers.

-Haily, it's me. You know you can tell me anything. I'm your best friend, remember?

She nodded as he hugged her in an attempt of comforting her.

-It's just… Jade was my mom's birthstone. She always used to wear jewelry with that stone on it. I believed that nothing would ever happen to her with that constant protection.

-And she was killed.

She winced at the words. It had been two years since her mother's death, but it was still a touchy subject. Her mom had been her only relative. Her death had not only caused Haily deep sorrow, but also made her an orphan. Thanks to Damon and the others, she now had what could be considered as a family, but the grief she felt over the loss of her mom was still there.

-Not only that. The night she was… murdered, she lost her jade earrings. She had them on when she left in the morning. But when I found her in front of the door that night with… Elijah, she didn't have them on.

-Have you ever found them?

The angel shook her head. She sat back to look at Jeremy.

-I shouldn't share those horrid memories with you. It's depressing, especially before starting a school day.

They laughed as the bell rang.

Haily still had a few minutes before her first class. She had stopped at the bathroom to repair the damages her tears had made. She wasn't one to usually wear make-up, but the situation required some foundation and blush.

She sat her schoolbag on the counter and began to search inside. She quickly found her make-up bag, which was surprising considering the amount of things she had in her school bag. She applied a small amount of foundation all over her face and put a bit of blush over her cheeks.

She put her make-up bag back into her schoolbag and looked into the mirror one last time. What she saw in it made her scream.

There flames all around the mirror. It wasn't her face she saw in it, but a small village. There were buildings on fire all around. In the middle of the village, four black horses had knights who seemed made of shadows riding them. From the four cavaliers, none had a head. They were turning around a human form. From her point of view, Haily couldn't see if it was a male of a female. She saw one of the shadow riders holding up a sword and cutting the human's head. The victim's cry echoed her own.

Someone swung the door open. Haily turned around, startled by the newcomer. It was Penny, one of the cheerleaders.

-Are you okay? I heard you screaming.

The angel looked back at the mirror, worried Penny would see what she'd just saw. But all she looked at was her reflection in the middle of the school's bathroom.

-I… I saw a spider. I hate those things; they scare me like nothing else.

Penny nodded slowly.

-I know. I don't even get why they exist. Is it gone?

Haily looked at her shoes.

-Yeah. I think I killed it.

-Good. Come on, hurry, we'll be late for class.

As they got out of the bathroom, Haily looked back one last time at the mirror. It was still the same. At that moment, she felt like her life was about to change drastically. And it had nothing to do with the science exam she had later that day.

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><p><em>So now, Haily is seeing things others can't seem to see... Is it a message? If yes, from who?<em>

_Feel free to speculate in a review! _;)_  
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	3. Gone to the wrong place

_Another chapter! i felt bad for Haily while writing it, you'll see why._

_Enjoy.  
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><p>The first week of exams passed like a blur. Haily didn't have time to think about her vision and quickly forgot about it to concentrate on science and history, the subjects she had most difficulties to learn.<p>

She was lying on her stomach on Jeremy's bed. He was trying to give her advice to remember the numbers and abbreviations in the periodic table of elements. She put her forehead on her book, sighing.

-I can't even remember the first row. I'm horrible at that. It doesn't even make any sense!

He sat down next to her and rubbed her back.

-I know. But it's either trying to remember this or staying a junior for another year.

She looked up at him, growling.

-You're not helping…

She showed out her tongue at him, pouting like a five-years-old. Jeremy laughed before putting is finger on an element that was represented by the letter K.

-Kalcium?

-Calcium starts with a C.

-But Stefan told me some elements don't even have their abbreviations in their name. Like Iron is Fe.

-Yes, and K is for potassium.

-See? It doesn't make any sense!

-It comes from Latin. It makes perfect sense in that language.

-Then, they should translate it in English. Can't we get to something better to do? Like watch a movie, maybe?

Jeremy tried to stay focused on their studies, but her begin eyes were so hard to resist! She always had what she wanted with those eyes. Even Damon couldn't say no to her when she looked like that.

-Okay. But you'll have to study with Stefan before the exam. And you'll have to read your history chapters again.

-Sure. Or I'll ask Damon for the real story.

Jeremy snickered. He could picture Haily writing the Civil War as a battle between two teams of vampires. Damon was just the kind of people to tell her that kind of story.

-So, what are we watching?

-Transformers!

-Again?

-Come on! I love that movie. Bumble Bee is just adorable!

She clapped her hands as he popped the DVD in his laptop. They sat back on the bed, their back against the headboard. Haily snuggled closer to him, her head resting on his shoulder.

As the last battle started on screen, Jeremy's eyes drifted to Haily. He thought she would be asleep, just like every other time they'd watched that movie. But for the first time in ages, Haily was awake, her eyes glued to the screen. From his point of view, she almost seemed in trance.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to stop the movie, cool off and wash this nightmare out of her head. But all she could do was watch.

The same scene was replaying in front of her eyes. Instead of the Transformers fighting, she saw the small village with the death cavaliers. They were circling around a human form. This time, though, she was able to see the human form. A whimper escaped her lips as she saw the sword cutting through the woman's body.

-Mom…

Jeremy saw the tears on her cheeks right before he heard her call her mother. He tried to touch Haily, to comfort her and understand why she was so upset when she usually loved that movie. But as he touched her arm, she started kicking around, sending his laptop on the floor. Thankfully, it landed on the top of a pile of clothes. She continued to push around until Jeremy stood away of the bed. A few short seconds after that, her body stopped moving all together and she fell back on the bed. She wasn't dead, but she didn't seem asleep either. She seemed to be in a coma. Jeremy put a few fingers on her throat to be sure her heart was still beating at normal speed. He then proceeded to call Damon, knowing that the vampire would be furious to know the angel he treated like his own child had gone into a coma for no apparent reason.

Haily blinked a few times at the brightness of the room. She had been there once, the year before. In front of her, Gabriel and Anael were perfectly still.

-I didn't ask for your help, this time. What am I doing here?

-We need your help.

Just as she remembered, they were talking in exact synchronism. They both held up a hand. A screen of smoke took place in between her and the archangels. She saw the village and the cavaliers. It was the same scene playing again and again, like a movie scene set on repeat mode.

-Stop it.

She felt tears tickling in her eyes. Now that she knew it was her mother being killed by a sword, she couldn't watch it with as much fascination.

The smoke screen disappeared and the archangels dropped their hand back down.

-She was sent there by mistake. We thought she would be safe, but she wanted to help others so badly that she put herself in danger. She can't die again, but she is suffering.

-Then why aren't you helping her?

-We can't. It is impossible for us to go where she is. We can't do anything to save her. But you can. You can go there and save your mother. We're not sure she'll be able to enter Heaven, but she can at least escape this place.

Haily shook her head from left to right. What did they mean, she was there by mistake? Where could she be? Haily had always thought her mother was in Heaven, since she'd been such a good person during her life. But apparently, she'd been wrong. Surely, there weren't many places where her mom could be.

-Well, where is she?

As she asked, it clicked in her head. A place where the archangels couldn't go. A place where her mom could be safe, except if she attracted attention by helping others. A place where being a good Samaritan wasn't a brilliant idea.

Her mother was suffering in Hell. As the realisation dawned on her, Haily glared at the archangels.

-No! She can't be there! How could you let something like that happen? She was the best person alive! She was always willing to help everyone, no matter who they were. She can't be in Hell!

-She was sent there by mistake. Her way to Heaven has been cut short. We tried to get her from Hell, but it's impossible for us. Only demons and fallen angels can get there without a scratch. You're the only one who can save her.

She sighed. Strangely, the first thought to cross her mind was that the next few weeks suddenly seemed a lot harder to get through than if she'd just had her regular exams.

Damon was pacing around the bedroom, glaring at Jeremy every few seconds.

-If you weren't Elena's brother and if Haily didn't care that much about you, you would already be dead. I hope you know that.

-Just like the last 20 times you said this to me.

They both jumped and turned around when Haily started to move. They sat on each side of her. She rose slowly, looking at both of them.

-I guess this little zoom out didn't go unnoticed.

Damon kissed her forehead and looked in her eyes.

-How are you feeling?

-Not great. I paid a little visit to Gabriel and Anael.

Damon's eyes narrowed.

-What did they want?

She shrugged. How could she explain this? Damon would freak out and ask to go with her, which would just put him in danger for no reason.

-Just a little talk. Archangels to angel stuff.

He stared at her, waiting for a better answer that never came. At last, he dropped his eyes to the bedspread before standing up and taking her in his arms like a baby.

-That's enough for tonight. I'll take you back home.

She put her head on his shoulder. Being in Damon's arms felt like home. She looked at Jeremy one last time before the vampire ran out of the room – and the house.

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><p><em>I know, she'll need Damon's help, just like she'll need Jeremy's. But it can go on that easy, right? <em>;)


	4. Truth always needs to come

_Sorry if it took a few days. I was very busy again this week-end. I started writing yesterday night but I wanted to watch an episode of Glee (that's my geek side talking) and almost fell asleep in front of my laptop._

_Enjoy  
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><p><span>Chapter 3: Truth always needs to come<span>

The piece of paper in front of her eyes was horrible to read. She could see each word perfectly, but she couldn't make out the sentence. It was supposed to be a simple question. Her brows furrowed and she read each word separately once again. She closed her eyes to concentrate on what she should write. That's when it happened.

She'd been feeling good all week, wondering mostly about her exams. She had almost forgotten about her vision and her visit to the archangels. But there it was again.

As she closed her eyes, she felt the burning of a near flame. At first, she thought it was a nightmare. But then, she clearly felt the burn on her arm. She opened her eyes to see her exam sheet being consumed by a pale orange flame. She heard everyone starting to scream around her, but she was mesmerized by the single flame.

Someone jerked her off her chair and away from her desk. She looked up to see Jeremy holding her tight. He pulled her outside the classroom with the other students. When they were safe and sound, he helped her to sit with her back against a row of lockers and examined her arm.

-Are you alright?

-Did I... did I start the flame?

-Yes.

She closed her eyes. She didn't understand why or how exactly she'd started that flame. Deep inside, she felt something new, something dark, awakening. At that exact moment, she got scared of what she was capable of.

Her last exam was finally done. Since the burning incident, Haily had been scared of going back to school. She'd been scared of doing pretty much anything, actually. Damon had been following her around all week, making sure she didn't start another fire involuntarily.

She walked into the living room, a bottle of bubbling juice in her hands. She felt like dancing. She was finally done with junior year. In a few month, she would be a senior and, in a year, she would get to college.

Damon came to sit next to her on the couch with a bottle of beer in his hands. He looked down at her, smiling.

-So, you're done with school for now.

-Yes. Finally!

-What are you going to do this summer?

It was the question she didn't want to hear or answer. She knew what she would do. She would go to Hell and rescue her mother. She had to. But she couldn't risk Damon, Jeremy or anyone else's life.

-I don't know. I'll relax. Oh, and I'll surely forget all about history and sciences!

He shook his head. He already knew what she would do this summer. She wasn't a very good liar.

-You're forgetting something.

She sighed. How could she think she would be able to hide something from him? He was way too intelligent for his own good, sometimes.

-How do you know?

-You talk in your sleep. Where is she?

-She's in Hell. Apparently, there's been an error when she died. She was supposed to be sent somewhere safe. Instead, she went to a small village located in Hell. Since she can't help but be the Good Samaritan, she tried to help people in the village. Apparently, she's been discovered. Now I have to go get her, since Gabriel and Anael can't.

Damon smiled.

-I guess we're in for a trip to Hell, then.

Haily shook her head.

-I'm not putting you in danger with this. It's my mother. Plus, I'm the only one strong enough for this. You could get killed. Demons in Hell are stronger than anything you know.

-Danger? Remember who you're talking to, princess. I fear no danger.

-And that is why you shouldn't come. It would be like you to pull some stupid stunts and end up dead. And seriously, I don't need another family member in Hell.

The hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Damon's lips.

-Are you worried about my awesome self, little angel?

She laughed as he suddenly grabbed her by the arm, pulling her close. She snuggled to his side.

-You're sure you want to come? It's dangerous and you have Elena now. You know I wouldn't be able to save you back from death a second time, especially if we're already in Hell.

He kissed the top of her head.

-Don't worry about me. I'm old enough to take care of myself.

They were loading the car with everything they thought they would need. Stefan was hugging Katherine from behind, both of them standing on the porch and silently watching them. Stefan had wanted to come, but they'd convinced him it wasn't a good idea. Two people were enough, three were more of a crowd.

Elena stood next to the car, her eyes following their every movement. As Damon loaded the last bag in the car, she took Haily's hand in hers.

-Be careful and take care of him.

Haily smiled, squeezing Elena's hand. Seeing her there, ready to make the sacrifice of letting them go to Hell, she felt a lot of guilt. Damon had decided all by himself to follow her, but she was still taking him away from his girlfriend. The angel made a promise to herself to take Damon back to Mystic Falls alive – well, undead – and in one piece. She owed both of them that much.

Elena stepped back, Damon following her. Haily wanted to give them some privacy, so she turned around. Even though, she could still hear them talking.

-Take care.

-I will

-I'm serious, Elena. I don't want you to get involved in any problem while I'm gone.

-I should be the one giving you this speech. Stay away from demons bigger and stronger than you. Don't fight if not necessary and, please, do not provoke anyone.

-I love you, Elena Gilbert.

Elena let out a small snort.

-I love you too, Damon Salvatore.

At last, Damon kissed her for a long moment. He then turned around and both Haily and him sat in the car. They were about to pull out when another car entered the driveway. The car stopped a few meters from them and Jeremy got out of it.

-Where the heck do you think you're going?

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><p><em>Oh oh, Jeremy's stepping in! What will he do?<em>

_If you want to answer, a review is a good way (*hint hint*)  
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	5. Highway to Hell

_A week has passed already since my last chapter._

_So much is happening right now in my life, I have a hard time finding when to write this fanfiction. So I apologize for the delay!_

_Enjoy this chapter.  
><em>

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><p><span>Chapter 4: Highway to Hell<span>

-Jeremy, please, step away. I have to go.

-No. I'm not letting you go there alone.

-I won't be alone. Damon's coming with me.

Haily took Jeremy's hand in hers and squeezed it. She knew how he felt. It was just like a year before, when the others had locked them up in the old witches' house to keep them safe from Klaus. But this time was far worse. Klaus was one single vampire to take care of. She was going to Hell, which was a whole dimension for demons. She didn't know what they would find there and she didn't want to risk Jeremy's life. Risking Damon's was bad enough, she didn't want someone else involved.

-Do you have the pendant I gave you?

She took the green gem from under her shirt, showing it to him.

-Is it enough to show you I'll be safe?

-No. But I guess it's all I'll get.

She winked. She didn't want to leave him there. She had no certainty of coming back from Hell.

-Remember what I told you last spring?

-You said a whole lot of things back then.

-When I told you that I loved you but it wasn't the right time for us yet?

He nodded. Her declaration had kept him up at night for at least a week. Haily sighed.

-Well, I think that, when I get back from Hell, if you still want me we could… try and see if we are a match.

The corner of a smile appeared on Jeremy's lips. Thinks were Bonnie weren't as good as they used to be and, frankly, he'd been dreaming to see what life would be like if Haily was his girlfriend.

-You promise?

Her only answer was to give him a quick peck on the lips. Before he realized it, she was back in Damon's car, ready to find the nearest entrance to Hell.

They'd been driving for hours. Haily looked at the forest surrounding them and sighed.

-Are you sure there's an entrance near? Because all I can see is green and brown. I swear, this place is more depressing than Forks.

Damon's left eyebrow rose. He took his eyes off the road to look at the angel.

-Your Twilight jokes are not funny for anyone who hasn't read the books.

-Don't play the bad-ass guy. Caroline told me you read her copy of New Moon. And I heard the movie playing in your room, the other night.

He narrowed his eyes, whispering something about Elena's choice of movies. Haily let out a snort, mocking him. He looked back at her, this time his eyes like those of a hunter watching his prey.

-Don't give me this look. You know I'm not afraid of you.

-Sometimes, I think I should give you a lesson. Just so that you learn to respect your elders.

-Oh, I respect my elders. I just know how to push your buttons. And I know you love me.

She gave him the sweetest smile. The kind of smiles she knew he couldn't resist. Damon just growled and turned on an even smaller road than they already were.

A few miles further, the road ended. In front of them, there was some sort of river. It could have passed as any other normal river, except that the water was pitch black.

They both got out of the car, scanning the area to see or feel anything out of place. Everything was calm, too calm. No birds singing, no wind blowing. The sun was covered by thick dark grey clouds.

-I guess we're there.

Haily walked to the river. It wasn't moving. She kneeled down to touch the water. She couldn't see her reflection on it, but she could see something blurry under the surface. She touched the liquid. It wasn't water. It felt like some kind of very thick oil.

Suddenly, a white thin arm shot out of the river and gripped her wrist. She tried to step back, but the arm was too strong. She screamed, both from pain and fear, as she felt the arm taking her into the river.

Damon appeared beside her. He pulled on the white arm, freeing it from the river. He then proceeded to free Haily's wrist and threw the arm far back in the liquid. He kneeled next to the angel, looking at her arms. She was breathing fast, having a ahrd time calming down.

-Ssshhh. It's okay.

-What… what was that?

-It was the arm of some ghost.

He showed her the river.

-This is the modern version of the Styx.

-Like the music group?

-Like the mystic river the Greek had to pass to get to Hell. I wasn't sure we'd be taking the usual entrance, since we are not exactly dead. But it seems like it. Do you see the fog on the other side? This is the door we have to enter to get to Hell.

-But how are we going to get on that side? I don't want to drown in there!

Damon helped her up before going back to the car. There, he took everything they'd packed up and put it under the biggest tree.

-We are camping out here until someone else needs to get there.

He looked in a few bags before showing her a bottle full of black liquid. Haily's eyes opened wide and she shook her head.

-I am not drinking this. I almost became evil the last time, I wont take a chance this time around.

-You have no choice. They will kill you if you go in there with your angel look. They'll recognize you immediately and we'll be dead within an hour. Now drink.

She shook her head once again. Going to rescue her mother with Damon's help was one thing. Becoming a fallen angel once again was something else entirely. She wasn't even sure she would come back, this time around.

Damon took her chin in his hand, locking eyes with her.

-I believe in you, remember? I know you'll get through this.

She sighed. With shaking hands, she drank half of the bottle.

At first, she felt nothing. But soon enough, the pain shot through her entire body. She fell on the ground, shaking like she had an epileptic crisis. Damon kneeled next to her body and took her in his arms, holding her as close to him as he could.

After a few seconds, in was done. Haily stopped shaking. She closed her eyes and opened them right away, her irises now dark violet color. Just like a year before, the veins you could see under her skin were black. Her wings were floating behind her, bones clearly visible under the transparent silk her feathers had become. She licked her lips.

-It was less painful this time around, that's for sure.

She stood up, so did Damon. He looked at her anxiously, waiting to see if his plan had worked or if she'd became a true fallen angel. Without a warning, she gave him a hug.

-Don't be so stressed. I'm still myself. I just look less like a teenager and more like a demon.

He hugged her delicately, so that he wouldn't touch her wings. Even if he'd already seen her like that, it scared him. She looked so powerful and evil, even while wearing her normal jeans and t-shirt.

-Now go change. Nobody will believe you're a fallen angel, if you keep this Care bear t-shirt on.

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><p><em>You know what to do. I love when you review <em>;)_  
><em>


	6. On stranger's tide

_Once again, here is my update of the week._

_This week is a short update, because I'm so busy I barely have time to think about eating and sleeping, let alone writing. With my promotion and my numerous activities, I really try to keep up with the story, but it's hard. But don't worry, I have no intention of stopping it any time soon!_

_Enjoy the read!  
><em>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 5: On stranger's tide<span>

They waited for a few hours before anything happened. Damon took out the tent and a few necessary things. He drank two blood bags to regain some strength and made sure no one would see them front the road.

All this time, Haily stood on the edge of the deadly river, looking at the velvet black oil. As a fallen angel, she could feel the power boiling under the surface. Despite the dangerousness of it, a part of her was attracted by it. With the power hiding in there, she would be strong enough to rescue her mother without putting Damon in danger.

She was about to bent down and touch the liquid, when Damon's made her sharply turn around.

-You got to be kidding me.

Right beside their tent stood Jeremy, a bloody red cut crossing his bare chest. Haily ran to him as he fell on the ground. She put his head on her knees, pushing his hair out of his face.

-Jer… What happened?

He smiled, wincing a little at the pain.

-I figured if you were going to Hell, I could die so you wouldn't be able to deny my help.

Tears welled up in her eyes. This guy was way too dedicated. She didn't want to tell him the truth, but his disappointment would be horrible if he died. And she couldn't let him do that anyway.

-You won't go to Hell if you die. You're too much of a good guy to be sent there. You'll go straight to Heaven without possibility of coming back.

His eyes opened like two round pieces of money. He sighed as pain shot through his body again.

-So I did this for nothing?

She gave him a sad smile for answer. Damon's voice brought them both out of their little world.

-Shit! Someone's coming.

Haily stopped stroking Jeremy's hair. She had to keep him from dying, but she wasn't sure her fallen angel powers were good in that department.

-Close your eyes, Jer.

He obeyed without a word. She slid a hand on the cut crossing his chest. The blood stopped flowing and the skin started to close slowly, too slowly. She would never have time to completely close the gash before whoever was coming appeared.

With a shaking breath, Haily bent down and kissed the cut, sipping some of the blood still lingering on Jeremy's skin. She shivered, but proceeded with the darkness prayer. Coming from the darkest part of her, the words found their way to her mouth and slid out like a long-known litany.

As the strangers appeared on the edge of the river, she backed up from Jeremy's body. A second barely passed before he opened his eyes and sat up. He looked just as good as new. They both stood up and walked to stand next to Damon, who was watching the newcomers.

Jeremy tried to talk to her, but she ignored him. She hated herself for what she'd just done. The prayer she'd recited was coming directly from Lucifer himself. It was more dangerous than any other darkness prayer, mostly because it created a black link between the fallen angel and the victim being saved from death.

A bridge appeared over the river, right in front of the newcomers. They started to walk on it and the trio followed them quickly and silently. The tent and other stuffs were safe where they were, so they left the world of the living without caring much about their stuff.

They didn't have any troubles passing through Hell's entrance. Damon was a vampire, a low life demon as considered by some, but still a creature of the night. Haily was a fallen angel, clearly respected in the demons' hierarchy. The guards must have felt the black link relating Jeremy to Haily, because their eyes went round and they bowed when the teenager's passed in front of them.

When they got on the elevator that would send them to the main land of Hell, Haily finally turned to Jeremy, so angry her face was red.

-You are an idiot! Now because of your stupidity, we are in Hell with a freaking black link relating us to each other. Do you know what it means? It means that I'll have to kill whoever touches you, talks to you or even looks at you. And I'm talking about both humans and demons.

-I thought humans being here were already dead…

-Oh they are. But I'll have to send them to the worst place in Hell, so they can suffer for what they've done!

She was almost in hysterics now. Damon took her in his arms so she could calm down, all the while glaring at Jeremy.

The elevator's doors opened to reveal a round public place, where demons walked among humans. All the humans wore a wine red spiked collar. They were walking with their heads bowed down. One bumped into a demon by accident. The demons growled and pushed the guy forcefully on the ground. Another demon wearing a blue and red outfit took the human by the arms and pushed him toward an adjacent street. The human cried and scream, saying again and again how sorry he was. But nothing made the demon stop. They quickly disappeared behind a building. The man's cries were still audible for a few seconds.

Haily took Damon's hand discreetly. He squeezed it. This place was worst than anything he'd ever seen before. No evil on earth was that bad.

Haily's wings were open like two big curtains protecting them. Everyone stepped back as they passed. A few demons, along with all the humans, bowed. One human even gave them what he'd bought at the market for his master. Haily took it, her hands shaking a bit. She felt like a powerful goddess being worshipped.

They asked for somewhere to sleep and a demon quickly stood up to show them the best hotel near the plaza. The demon who owned the place let them stay for free, giving them the biggest suite.

The suite had two bedrooms and their respective bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room. They got comfortable soon enough, deciding a night of sleep would be preferable before trying to find Haily's mother.

Damon found a few blood bags in the fridge.

-I'm taking one bedroom. Haily you'll take the other.

-And me?

-You'll sleep on the couch. Or you can take the floor, it's you choice.

Haily left to go in her bedroom without a word. Jeremy looked at her closed door.

-She hates me, doesn't she?

-She'd have reason to. Do you have any idea of how dangerously idiotic your idea was? You could have died for real and I would have to explain it to your sister and your aunt. Look, Haily cares about you and she would do anything to keep you safe, even if it puts her life in danger. Next time, think about what you're doing. I don't know about you, but I don't want to see her being hurt.

The vampire then left the living room, leaving Jeremy alone with his thoughts. He knew what he had done was far from intelligent, but he hadn't thought. Haily was going alone with Damon in Hell and he wanted to be part of it. He needed to be part of it. He cared too much about her to let her go there without knowing how she was doing.

But now that they were in Hell and after he'd almost died, he was frightened. He went to look at the window. Outside, the sky was constantly grey. Lightning was striking, but never touching the ground.

He barely heard the door open. When he realized someone else was in the living room, Haily was already behind him. He turned around sharply. Their eyes locked. No word was exchanged, their only communication the power of their stare.

Jeremy didn't fully realize what was happening until Haily put her hands behind his head and pulled his face close to hers. Her lips found his, kissing him with passion.

The kiss went on for a moment that felt like eternity. Much too soon, Haily stepped back, a shocked look crossing her face.

-Sorry… I… Sorry…

She turned around and ran back to her room, slamming her door shut.

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><p><em>Hm... It's not Haily's kind to kiss and run... What do you think is up with that?<em>


	7. Not myself

_Another week has passed, another chapter is here. Not much happening in this chapter, but a big problem building up._

_I find it sad that some of you beg me to write a sequel, but I don't have reviews anymore... _:'(_ You know I need them to know if people are still reading my fic..._

_Anyways, enjoy the read!  
><em>

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><p><span>Chapter 6: Not myself<span>

Jeremy woke up to the smell of coffee. He sat up on the couch, wincing when he felt pain shoot through all his muscles. He wasn't used to sleeping on a couch, no matter how luxurious it was. He stood up awkwardly and walked to the kitchen's counter, in front of which Haily was already sitting, her wings opened freely behind her. He took a moment to watch her silently. Even as a fallen angel, she was beautiful. The silk draped over the bones of her wings seemed so soft he wanted to caress it. He weld up his hand near the end of her left wing to touch it, just with the tip of his finger, to feel how soft it was, when her voice stopped him.

-Don't. They're poisonous.

Jeremy retracted his hand sharply, suddenly not as hypnotized by her wings as he previously was. Instead, he walked around the counter to look at her face. Her eyes and cheeks were red, obviously from crying. The hand around her cup of coffee was shaking so much he was scared she'd spill some on herself. He gently put his hand on top of hers, stopping the shaking.

-Hey, what's wrong?

She shook her head. She didn't want to tell him how troubled it made her to know the dangerousness of their new link. The kiss they'd shared the night before was a mistake, should feel like a mistake. But she only felt good about it. That kiss had been passionate and full of what could be promises of a possible future together. But he had Bonnie. No matter how much she loved him – and God knew how much she did – he was out of reach. She'd learned to appreciate Bonnie over the past few months, even if the witch sometimes drove her crazy with her attitude, and she would never want to hurt her like that.

-I just… I don't like this situation. You, me, Damon… here in Hell… If one of you gets caught, we'll all be in big trouble. Klaus was nothing compared to what we'll see here. I'm scared for both of you.

She tried to bring the cup to her lips, but her hands were still shaking so much, she had to put it back down and watch it get cold. Jeremy simply took her shaking hands in his and kissed both of them, never taking his sight off her.

When Damon finally left his bedroom, it was around noon – on Earth. Time was impossible to tell in Hell, due to the constant cover of clouds and lightning. The vampire drank two blood bags sitting in the fridge before opening the front door of their suite.

-I'm going to take a walk around, see if I can find anyone who might help us.

Haily hurried to his side, giving him a hug.

-Be careful and do not fight demons bigger than you.

-Since when are you acting like the oldest member of this family?

-Since I am the one they won't try to harm because of my place in the demons' hierarchy. Don't be out for too long, okay?

The vampire shrugged, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head before leaving.

Haily then walked to the closest window, to watch him disappear through the crowd. Jeremy walked to stand by her side.

-Why are you so scared for him? He's a vampire; he can take care of himself.

-Vampires aren't respected, in here. They are seen as garbage by many demons who've taken residency in Hell. Most demons hate them because they can still live on Earth. Others just think they don't have enough power to be worth of any respect. I bet my apparition with a vampire yesterday gave them a shock. Either that or they thought you were both my servants.

Jeremy let out a laugh.

-Your servants?

She turned to glare at him.

-You don't understand a thing, do you? If you weren't linked to me like you are, you would probably be working for a rich and sadistic demon right now. This is no little playful world. If you ever get caught in here, I might never be able to rescue you. It is not your life in danger, Jeremy, it is your soul! It's your ability to choose to do the right thing.

She was getting angry at him. She felt like he couldn't understand how edgy their situation was. Her fallen angel's mood was dark and easily changing from good to bad, Without realizing it, she was now talking angrily to Jeremy, her face merely inches from his. She stopped talking abruptly when his lips crashed on hers.

Jeremy couldn't help it. She was so sexy while being angry. Her face was getting a sweet shade of pale red and her violet pupils had black strikes appearing in them. Her lips were full and glossy and he just couldn't resist tasting them.

The kiss was longer than the night before, but just as passionate. Jeremy put an arm around Haily's back, carefully caressing her back without touching her poisonous wings. His gestures were done by intuition, as if he knew her body by heart. Haily, for her part, pulled his head closer to hers by passing a hand through his hair. Her other hand sneaked behind his back to land on his should blade. They lost all thoughts in this kiss, only wanting to taste the other some more.

They finally broke the kiss when they heard the door open. They quickly stepped back from each other to look at Damon's expression. The vampire had one brow raised and was glaring at them. He pointed a finger to Haily, then to her bedroom door.

-Bedroom. Now.

She looked at him, astonished. He had never talked to her like that. Almost like… like an angry father or big brother over-protecting her. She looked to the ground while walking to her room.

Damon looked back at Jeremy, who was now watching his own feet intently.

-Don't you remember that you have a girlfriend? I might not like Bonnie much, but cheating on her is low, even for you. And did you even think about Haily? She'll be heartbroken when you'll go back to witch-bitch. And it's one thing I promised myself to never let happen to her. So stay away, kiddo.

Jeremy never looked up, waiting for Damon to leave the room. When he finally heard a door close, he sat on the couch and put his head in his hands, sighing.

-What is happening to me?

Damon was walking in circle, trying to find what to tell Haily.

-Stop doing that, you're giving me a headache…

He came to a stop, glaring at her.

-What the bloody Hell where you thinking? You just kissed Jeremy Gilbert!

-I know. I was there.

The glared intensified. Haily slid down to rest her head on her pillows.

-I didn't… Think, I mean. I don't know what happened. I felt bad and he was there and… There's this attraction between us… I already loved him, but this…

-Great, now you're in love with him.

She pulled her head up, smiling a bit at the vampire.

-You didn't know? Come on, even Katherine knows.

Damon sat on the edge of her bed. He looked at her with his "big brother stare".

-That's not what's important right now. He has a girlfriend. If you want him, you can get him, but don't kiss him while he's someone else's. You'll end up heartbroken and I'll have to punch him.

She raised an eyebrow. Damon shrugged like it was the most usual thing.

-For good measure. It's in my big brother's job description.

He earned a smile with that sentence. His soft side surfaced and he opened his arms.

-Come here, kitten.

She sat back up and threw herself in his arms, letting him give her a bone-crushing hug. When they pulled back, Haily looked at Damon nervously.

-About the kiss… I… I think it has something to do with the link that I created between us when I used the Devil's prayer. The black link is very powerful and can be good AND bad to both the human and the fallen angel. Considering our relationship, I think the attraction is the bad part…

Damon sighed.

-You can never have normal teen's problem, can you?

* * *

><p><em>I wanted them to start the search for Haily's mother right away, but Haily &amp; Jeremy had other plans... And I have to admit I like their plans <em>:D

_So, for any Buffy fans who might read this story, have you seen the Spike's reference? You can answer in a review if you did._

_Next chapter will focus more on their search and adventure in Hell.  
><em>


	8. Hostages

_Finally! Took me 2 weeks instead of 1 for this vhapter. I'm sorry, it was so busy at work I forgot it._ :$

_Warning: There is some light torture in this chapter. There is nothing too awful described, but it's still torture._

_Enjoy (as much as you can enjoy a hard chapter like this...)  
><em>

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><p><span>Chapter 7: Hostages<span>

They'd been in Hell for what seemed like a few days. Of course, they couldn't tell what time it was, since the sky was always the same, dark and menacing. In those few days, Damon had been wandering around the hotel and trying to find information about Haily's mom, while letting everyone believe he was only the fallen angel's servant.

He finally found what he was searching for when he heard two demons talk about a small village where humans were sent when no one wanted them. It was only a few miles away, but protected by a huge security system.

Haily, as stubborn and impulsive as she was, wanted to go rescue her mother right away. It took both Damon and Jeremy to calm her down and make her realize she couldn't just run – or fly – in there, even as a fallen angel.

They took their time to evaluate the security system surrounding the village area. From what they found, there were more than a hundred thousand acres connected to the system and the controls, apparently close to those humans used, were far more dangerous. It would be harder than anything "Mission: Impossible" ever showed.

After some arguments, they decided that Haily would be the first to go in. It didn't make Damon really happy, but she was the only one of them respected enough in the demons' society to enter the place without being arrested in the minute, or so they thought.

The minute she walked in what looked like the main building, several demons surrounded her. They were all wearing armors and pointing knives and swords in her direction. She opened her wings wide, trying to intimidate them. An aura of dangerousness rose to settle around her body. Any human would have stepped back, feeling this new power coming from a fallen angel. But those guards weren't human. They were well trained mercenaries, as she found out a few seconds later. In less than a minute, they tied her up so tightly she could barely breathe. She tried to scream, to ask Damon for help, but the walls were so thick no one heard her.

It had been a long 30 minutes since Haily entered the building. Damon had been fighting his nervousness, telling himself he shouldn't worry and she was well trained. After half-an-hour, he couldn't take it anymore. He took Jeremy with him as he got out of the bushes they'd been hiding in and entered the main building.

They barely made it to the hallway before a dozen guards appeared in circle around them.

-Don't move.

Despite being a bit afraid of the huge mud-brown gummy demon, Damon laughed sarcastically.

-You should know better than to give orders to a vampire.

His contemptuous tone fired the guard's anger. The demons all attacked at the same time, leaving no possible exit. Damon fought his best, keeping Jeremy safe and watching his own back at the same time. Even with his battle's skills, he couldn't keep up long. The mercenary demons close on them, finally finding an opening to get to the human and the vampire. Once Damon was safely tied up, the mud demon walked to him and grinned, his green teeth showing the mud of what seemed to be his lips.

-You might be all evil and powerful on Earth, but here, you are nothing.

Haily woke up strapped on a metal table. She closed her eyes several times to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but the constant pain in her back, where her wings were tied up so tightly the silk was cracking, reminded her it was all real.

She started to move around to try to get the straps loose. A few seconds passed before she felt electricity pass through her body. But not the nice feeling of energy. It was pure electricity, about 500 volts.

She screamed so high she barely heard herself. The pain was worse than anything she'd ever felt before.

The shock finally stopped after several painful seconds. Haily's body relaxed as tears of pain slid down her face.

-Where is she?

The mud-like demon looked at him with what looked like a grin. A funny growl – a laugh, maybe? – escaped its throat.

-You are in no position to ask questions, little vampire.

If looks could kill, that gluey demon would have been dead for minutes, by now. But with his arms tied behind his back with ropes soaked in vervain and with walls made of a mix of vervain needles and wood carved in stakes pointing toward him, Damon was powerless. The thought of Haily being tortured by those guards he'd been fighting crossed his head and he growled like an animal in cage.

-If you touch just one of her hair…

The demon let out another growl-laugh and turned his back on Damon, leaving.

-I wonder how long you'll survive. You'd be a nice pet.

Jeremy was brought to a small room with a large black window on one end. Under the window was a panel full of buttons. The guard who'd been pushing him around showed him a chair.

-Sit.

Jeremy obeyed, not quite sure what to think about the room surrounding him. The demon walked to the panel and made a sound similar to a whistle.

The black of the window, the human realized, was in fact a curtain. It opened slowly to a mechanical sound.

Jeremy's eyes opened wide. On the other side of the window was Haily, strapped on a table with many wire under it going in all directions.

He jumped to his feet and ran to the window, where he punched the glass several times before the guard stopped him.

As the demon got him under control, a few buttons lit up on the board. In front of Jeremy's horrified stare, Haily started to twist and turn, screaming in pain.

-STOP IT! YOU'RE HURTING HER! STOP!

Haily finally fell back on the table. As the demon let go of him, Jeremy ran back to the window to see if she was still alive.

Under her half-closed lids, Haily was hallucinating. In her imagination, Damon was there, saving her from the bad guys. When they got out of the room together, they suddenly appeared to be in a church. On the other end, at the altar, was Jeremy. He looked dashing in his black suit. Haily looked down at herself to see she was wearing the cutest and most simple white dress. She couldn't understand how, but she remembered looking at herself in the mirror. With her hair pulled up under a thin veil and her silk-like, whit-as-snow dress, she looked like a goddess. Her white feathered wings were opened behind her back, showing to everyone who she truly was. She looked to her right to see Damon standing at her side with the happiest expression she'd ever seen him. They walked to the altar together, his arm crossed with hers. When they arrived in front of Jeremy and the priest – whom Haily hadn't seen before – Damon gave her hand to Jeremy, giving them both his benediction at the same time.

The pain woke her up from her dream. Her screams were less piercing now. She'd been screaming so many times and for so long that her voice was getting raspy. Tears had stopped falling down her face long ago. She was starving and she needed to drink but most of all, she was hurting everywhere.

Damon lifted up his head as he heard noises coming from the other end of the hallway. In the dim light of the dungeon, he saw two demons carrying something. A guard opened the door of the cage next to his and the demons dropped their package.

The sight of Haily's grey body was almost enough to make him sick. Her wings were broken in several places, the silk falling in ribbons. She had so many burns on her skin he couldn't even count them. Her clothes were tear apart in some place, leaving too much of her body exposed for a girl her age. But despite the few pieces of clothes she was still wearing, she was far from being obscene.

What she truly looked like was a servant who would have been punched and kicked around by her master.

Damon fell to his knees as close to her as he could get.

-Haily…

She lifted up her eyes to look at him. In her stare, he saw all the pain and exhaustion she felt. At that single moment, he promised himself no one would ever hurt her again. She was too much of an awesome and sweet girl to be hurt.

-I'll get you out of here.

-You… You promise?

He nodded as she closed her eyes and fell asleep on her back, wincing as her burns touched the rocky ground.

Damon took a breath in and closed his eyes to control his rage. If he wasn't scared for her life and Jeremy's, he would have fought his best and made his way out of this place. But they were both too important for him – although he would never admit Jeremy was important for him – to put them in more danger than they already were.

-I promise.

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><p><em>I don't know how you felt reading this chapter, but I hard a really hard time writing it. I wanted to save them in whatever crazy way, but it wouldn't have been believable...<em>

_Don't forget to comment, please!  
><em>


	9. Struggling for their life

_It took me 2 weeks, but the new chapter is finally done! I can't begin to tell you how hard it was to write this chapter. I thought I would finish it within an hour, as I usually do, but I started thinking and thinking and thinking about how everything could happen and I could constantly hear Damon in my head, saying how much this wasn't right or that didn't work with him... But I got it done at last and I'm proud of it._

_You know the deal, enjoy!  
><em>

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><p><span>Chapter 8: Struggling for their lives<span>

It must have been their third day in this horrid prison. Damon had been tortured with wood spikes covered in vervain numerous times and again. But being tortured wasn't the worst part. The worst was seeing Haily get taken away twice or three times a day. The worst was not knowing where or even how was Jeremy. Was he still alive? Damon flinched at the thought of the teenager's dead body lying somewhere in Hell's dumpster.

Haily opened her eyes to see once again the white pattern of the torture room's ceiling. She sighed, waiting for the pain to come. It was always unexpected. She had to be ready anytime. This time, it didn't take more than a few minutes, from what she could tell. The pain came like a blow. Within a few seconds, she was gone into hallucinating/dreaming mode. Her mind was getting used at switching off when the pain came.

The images were as clear as if he'd seen them right in front of him. He knew it was only a dream. None of it was real. Still, he couldn't help but feel the pain she felt. When he saw her dream turn into a nightmare by the apparition of Klaus, he jumped off his chair, struggling against the chains that kept him in place. He heard her scream louder as the images changed. Jeremy kept on struggling against the chains, crying in pain of seeing Haily being killed slowly by their torturer.

A new pain came to her, this time around. As her mind started off in a nice dream, as it now always did, it quickly became a horrible nightmare. After the sudden appearance of Klaus in her Graduation Day dream, she found herself wandering around Mystic Falls' High School. She knew the place by heart but, for an unknown reason, she couldn't find her way through the labyrinth that formed the school hallways. She kept turning and running for her life, but nothing seemed familiar. After a while, she sat on the floor, exhausted, and cried of fear as Klaus came to a stop in front of her.

-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Her scream was so loud it echoed through the walls, breaking as her vocal chords trembled with the amount of air passing through. Both Jeremy and Damon heard it, though none was able to get away to help.

Jeremy's tears were falling so fast on his face you could barely see them. It was two rivers forming on his teenager's strong features. He tried to scream back at Haily, to make her understand she wasn't alone. Just as he opened his mouth, five demons appeared around him and started to beat him up until he was barely moving, curled on the floor.

Damon felt another splinter of wood find its way through his skin. He winced, but kept his teeth clenched. There was no way those demons would make him scream. He contained his rage as another high pitched scream pierced the relative silence of the place. All his rage was contained in his eyes, ready to explode whenever the time would come.

When Haily was brought back to her cage, barely conscious and slimmer than ever, Damon decided it was time to act. Another day of torture and she would be dead. The silk on her wings had mostly fallen off and you couldn't even say what clothes she wore. On top of that, her burns were getting infected. As soon as the guards set her on the floor of her cage, she started to cough her lungs out. Damon kneeled as close as he could.

-Haily, hey sweetie, are you alright?

She tried to nod, but it only caused her to cough some more. Damon passed his arms through the bars as much as he could and she slid closer. He hugged her awkwardly because of the wooden bars in between them. When he let her go, he watched her curl up close to his cage, within reach. Once he was sure she'd fallen asleep, he let his tears fall down freely. He wasn't one to cry, but seeing his little angel being tortured and dying slowly made him emotional. He couldn't see any way to escape and hated himself for it. He was the one who always had a plan. Okay, his plans weren't always brilliant nor did they always go well, but he had them. This time, though, he was coming up with a big nothing. Hell wasn't a place he'd frequently visited, so his knowledge of the place was limited. But there must have been somebody somewhere who could help them, who could save them! He slowly drifted to sleep, hoping their lives would be better once he woke up.

Later, the soft noise of keys being moved around woke the vampire. He didn't open his eyes, only listening for what would come next. He heard the door of his cage being pushed open. His lids barely lifted up, allowing him to see the beginning of a shadow. With his vampire sight, he quickly measured the shadow as one of someone about 5" 7' of height and relatively skinny. He immediately knew it wasn't a demon, for they were taller and larger than the creature this shadow belonged to.

The whisper that came next surprised him.

-Pssst. Are you alright?

He fully opened his eyes to see a woman he hadn't seen in years. His pupils dilated in shock, as he studied the thin but tall person in front of him.

-You're Haily's mother.

It wasn't a question. The woman was the exact replica of his little angel, minus the wings and innocent look. The look in the eyes of the woman changed radically to show fear and sadness.

-Tell me she isn't here.

Damon bit the inside of his cheek. He would've preferred to tell her Haily was safely at home with his brother and Elena. He was scared enough for the teenager, there was no need to worry her mom too. But Haily was in the cell behind him, not safe at all and on the verge of dying. Right now, the only thing he could think about was getting her safe and sound.

-Sorry to disappoint.

He slid a few feet to his left, letting the woman see Haily's barely living body. It took only a second for the woman to evaluate the situation her daughter was in. She ran out of Damon's cell without bothering to close it before opening Haily's door. She fell on her knees at the side of the angel lying on the ground.

-Oh my little girl, what have they done to you?

She held the angel close to her body, shaking as she looked over her wounds.

Haily woke to the sound of someone singing quietly. It took her brain a minute to link the song to the particular sound of the soprano voice she'd known since she was a baby. Once she realized who the voice belonged to, she opened her eyes and sat up straight. She winced in pain when her burns touched the mattress in different ways than before and when her muscles straightened. Her breath caught in her throat.

-Mom…?

Her voice was hoarse from all the previous screaming, but she didn't care. It was her mother sitting in front of her, singing just like she used to.

-Good morning, Haeilian.

Haily felt a tear drop down her face as she heard her real name for the first time in two years.

-Mom.

It was all she could say. She had finally found her mother again. Without another word, she jumped down the bed she'd been sitting on and flew in her mother's awaiting arms. She barely felt the pain shoot through her body as she did. She was so happy, nothing could bring her down. But soon enough, the pain started to make itself felt again and Haily couldn't hold her mom close anymore, for her arms were hurting too much and she was generally too weak to hold an embrace. She felt herself fall backward without being able to stop it. Her arms and legs weren't moving as she wanted them to. Her body wasn't responding to what her brain told it. She braced herself for the shock that touching the floor would make.

But the shock never happened. Instead, she fell in strong cold arms she knew perfectly. Damon lifted her and went to lie her down on the bed again.

-You need rest for now. You can go and hug everyone once you're back to your normal self.

She pouted, mostly for the fact of doing it. She knew Damon was right. He could be annoying sometimes, but he had a habit of being right pretty much all the time. The exact opposite of Jeremy, who tended to sense things in the wrong way and act in consequence, frequently putting himself and others in trouble.

As she thought of him, Haily realized for the first time that Jer wasn't in the same room as them.

-Hey, where's Jeremy. Is he okay?

Her mother looked at the ground while Damon fought to find the best answer. Any way to say what he had to would either hurt her or angry her so much she would do something stupid. He mentally prepared his body to react to her outburst, which would surely come as soon as the words would be out of his mouth.

-He's still in there. We didn't know where he was and you were dying. We chose to save you first.

Haily's mouth hanged open for a few seconds before fire started to shine in the middle of her pupils.

-You did what?

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><p><em>Please, please, PLEASE review. I feel like no one is reading my fic anymore. Even an anonymous review is welcome!<em>


	10. Mysteries unveiled

_Oh, it's been a ! Almost what, 7 months? So, since I said goodbye to my full-time job, I finally have time to write again! And let me tell you that when I started writing this chapter this morning, it all came rushing at once. I couldn't stop (and that might cost me some screaming from my mom because I still have to do the dishes before she comes back from work)!_

_So I really hope you guys will like this chapter. I'll try and write tomorrow so that I can start updating like I used to.  
><em>

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><p><span>Chapter 9: Mysteries unveiled<span>

Haily rose slowly from the bed Damon had put her back on. She didn't seem to be angry, apart from the flame burning in her eyes. Damon stepped back involuntarily from the power that suddenly started to emanate from her.

-Can you explain me why I was worth saving and not Jeremy?

-Calm down, Haily. We are going to rescue Jeremy, but your wounds were critical. We had to take care of you first.

She held up a hand, signifying he should stop talking. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly, concentrating. She could feel Jeremy not too far away.

She spread her wings and took off. She barely noticed the hurt her half torn silky wings caused when she started to fly or the shards of the wooden ceiling piercing through her skin as she flew through it.

She set her sight on the guards' station. It was enormous, but she knew Jeremy would be in there. She could feel his life power through their dark link. She could also feel that he was on the verge of dying. Those moments while Damon and her mom had taken care of her were also moments that cost Jeremy a lot more pain.

She flew through the front door, barely noticing the guards as they went up in flames when she passed them. She searched every room, feeling Jeremy's life power getting weaker as time passed.

Finally, she found him in a metal cell near the room they had put her into at first. He was so full of bruises and cuts that you could barely recognize him. Her heart stopped beating for a second as she listened to his shaky breaths. She delicately took him in her arms. He winced when she started to fly back to her mom's home.

Once she got back with Jeremy, he mother took immediate care of the teenager. Damon, for his part, looked at the angel to make sure she didn't have more bruises.

-What happened? It barely took you 5 minutes.

-They didn't fight. They tried to, but I made them burst up in flames. I'm so powerful….

He didn't like the look on her face, but didn't have time to think much about it as Haily's mom screamed to them to hurry.

They ran back to Jeremy's body. His skin was getting grey and his chest didn't even rise and fall anymore. Haily tried to find feel his life power, but it was harder and harder to find. Almost as if…

-He's dying! He's dying and I can't do anything!

She was getting hysterical. She had already got him back from death once, she couldn't do it again. Plus, she was way too weak to try any life saving prayer. She looked over at Damon, her eyes begging him to do something, anything, to save her love.

The vampire didn't want to do this. He knew it was the worst idea. Elena would kill him. Bonnie would do the exact same thing. But Haily was desperate and he knew that he wouldn't survive seeing her – or Elena for that matter – living with Jeremy's death.

With a sigh, Damon bit his own arm and put it on Jeremy's lips. He waited for a second, but the teen didn't start drinking.

-Come on, kid. You can't die on me. Come on, drink…

Haily was already crying hysterically, while her mother was silently praying. In any other circumstances, he would have laughed at the fact that she was praying to God while being in Hell, but today was not a day to laugh.

After another second, while he thought he had taken too much time thinking about turning Jeremy and that had caused his death, the teenager started to drink slowly from his wrist. Damon almost jumped out of his own skin as he felt the human's lips try to get a grip of his skin to drain more blood.

As the few last heartbeats of Jeremy's heart were audible to his ears, he felt like the kid hadn't taken enough blood. He didn't know if it would work. He didn't know what the next hours would bring. But he certainly knew that he would not sleep that night. Neither would Haily, for that matter.

Haily was looking at the bed on which Jeremy was lying, but not really seeing it. Her mind was blank. The hysterical cries had stopped when he love's dead body had fallen back on the mattress, releasing Damon's wrist. Damon had then proceeded to make sure the teenager would be comfortable, no matter if he would wake up or not. He had then come to sit right next to her on the floor and had taken her in his strong arms. They hadn't move since then.

At first, she though the new life power she felt was a guard walking by the house. But when Damon quickly stood up to go check on Jeremy, Haily fell out of her thoughts.

Jeremy looked around himself, his eyes adjusting to his new vampire capacities. Remembering quite vividly his last instants of torture, he scanned over his own body to look for any bruise. Nothing. His skin was paler and more smooth than it had ever been. A surprised breath made him look over at an angel near him. At first, he only felt a lot of power coming from her. Then, his eyes adjusted to the well-known features of her face. Within a second, he was in front of her, touching her face as tears ran down her pretty cheeks.

-Haily…

She fell in his arms, crying like a baby. He held her as they slid down to the floor, crying in each other's arms.

-I'm sorry Haily, I am so sorry. I should never have come. This was way too dangerous. We almost died.

Her breath caught in her throat when he said that. She looked up at him.

-Jeremy, you… you are dead…

-What?

He sat back, taking a little distance. He scanned his body over once again, realizing he didn't feel the familiar "tum-dum" of his heart. He looked up at Damon.

-What did you do to me?

-Don't blame me, kiddo. I only did what had to be done in order for you not to… completely… die.

Haily was alone with her mom, letting the older woman take care of her wounds. Jeremy had left with Damon to find someone to drink from, in order to complete the transition. It had taken some time, but he had finally accepted to do it. The thought of not being able to see his sister and his aunt again – along with Bonnie, but Haily didn't want to think about that part – was what made him change his mind.

-You love him, don't you?

-Mom, please. Can we not talk about my very complicated love life?

Her mother smiled and kept on healing her wounds silently. Haily looked at her ears, noticing for the first time the brilliant green earrings. She touched one, instantly retreating her hand when it burned her.

-Are those? Are they your jade earrings?

Her mother didn't answer.

-Mom, are they? I thought you lost them the night you died?

-I didn't. Honey, you don't know everything about that night and I would like to keep it that way. Your innocence is more important than this.

Haily let out a snort.

-I lost my innocence the night I saw your dead body lying in front of Elijah.

-Elijah wasn't responsible for my death.

-Then who is?

They both sat on chairs around the table as her mother started to explain how her last day on Earth went.

-You know I always had faith in God and Heaven, right? Well, when you were young, a few weeks after Damon saved you from the fire, I got contacted by Gabriel and Anael. They appeared in my dreams, telling me they were our Guardian Angels. You see, it is quite rare that archangels are chosen to guard the life of humans. But they said your destiny was bright. They said you were chosen to make a difference. I didn't want to believe that such a young child could already have a destiny engraved in stone. So I started to search for hints of what you would have to do. I had to know how to prepare.

Haily was looking intently at her mother, trying to make sense of what she was saying. She had a destiny? Was she supposed to act like Buffy in the real world, or what? But then again, she was angel. That kind of threw the Buffy scenario out of the picture. She concentrated on her mother's speech once again.

-I searched for hints in every possible libraries and bookstores. Nowhere did they have answers. That's when I met Elijah. I didn't encounter him in some dark alley, as you might think. We met in a bookstore. I was reading about the war between angels and demons, he was searching about his family of Originals. We started to talk. He proposed to tell me more of what he knew about supernatural things while we took a drink. The few nights I told you I was working late, we were meeting. I fell madly in love with him. As of today, I still don't know if he did love me at the time.

Her head was spinning. Her mother had been in love with Elijah? So why in Hell did he kill her a few months later? Her mom must have seen the look in her eyes, because she smiled and went on.

-The night before I died, Gabriel and Anael appeared to me again. They told me that we had to leave the city. Someone was coming too fast for the course of time and you weren't ready to fulfill your destiny yet. I told Elijah the day after that we would have to leave. We decided to meet at the bookstore we had first met in. Only, someone was there before. When I arrived, the owner of the bookstore was already dead. Gunshot in the head. I thought it might have been because of a robbery. I never thought the killer would still be there. I took my cellphone to call 9-1-1. That's when he killed me.

That explained why Elijah had her mom's blood all over himself. He must have found her body and decided to take it back home, for Haily's sake. Unfortunately, she had opened the door at the wrong moment, seeing him hovering in grief over her mom's dead body. But even with all those explanations, one question remained…

-But who killed you, then?

-Lucifer.

Her breath caught in her throat. Lucifer, master of Hell. The one who was, along with God, supposed to make sure the balance of nature remained. Not too many demons for the humans and not too many humans for the demons. He was supposed to keep life not too dark and not too bright.

-But Lucifer his neutral! He can't do all this! It's against nature!

-Haily, Lucifer is bad. He's always been. Remember what I taught you. He is a fallen angel, just like you are now. He doesn't care about good or bad anymore. He just wants more power.

This was impossible. It couldn't be real. Lucifer couldn't want to destroy everything good and she couldn't be destined to kill him. It was all too much at once.

Unfortunately, Damon and Jeremy came back at that moment, running like they were followed by an army.

-Houston, we have a problem. The guards saw us. And they are running very fast!

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><p><em>How did you find it? Do I still have my writing skills even after 7 months?<em>

_And what do you think about Haily's mother? My advice: don't always believe what someone tells you, after a while in Hell.  
><em>


	11. Like, what the Hell?

_Another chapter is here. I'm getting back on track with this one :)_

_Had writer's block in the middle of this chapter, but my inspiration seems to be coming back. Thank God (no pun intended!) because Friday I was getting worried I wouldn't be able to write something worth it.._

_Anyways, have fun reading!  
><em>

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><p><span>Chapter 10: Like, what the Hell?<span>

The fight with the guards was quick, mostly because they were more than 50 against them. Within a few minutes, they were all tied up and being transported back to the elevator that first brought them there. Only this time, the elevator was sent farther down.

-Oh Lord…

Damon looked at Haily, his brows furrowed.

-What?

-They are taking us to Him.

This time, Jeremy was the one to look at her.

-Who's Him?

She sighed.

-Lucifer…

The guard who was keeping her in place pushed her a little. Saying Lucifer's name in Hell was like swearing. You had to call him "The King" or "Prince of Hell". Even a fallen angel wasn't right to disobey this rule.

The elevator ride took a long moment. They were all sweating by the time the doors finally opened to reveal a black cavern. The walls were made of sparkling diamonds covering the real cavern walls, all made of carbon. Below the lean bridge they were now walking on, they could see the magma raging. They were getting dangerously close to the center of the Earth. Haily let out a shaky breath, knowing that if any of them fell in there – including herself – they would not come back.

Lucifer was sitting in a chair made of marble. Haily felt a smile color her lips. Apparently, even the Prince of Hell needed a little cool down from this magma and fire environment.

As soon as he saw them, the famous fallen angel straightened himself in his throne. He looked at Damon, then Jeremy, then Haily's mother – making a disgusted face while he did so – and finally at Haily herself. While he looked her over, his features changed to reveal a mask of happiness. With a smile, he jumped off his throne and went to kneel in front of her. With his 8 feet-tall, kneeling in front of Haily brought him face to face with her. When he opened his mouth to speak, his voice sounded like a melody to her ears.

-Beautiful angel, what are you doing here?

The tone of his voice wasn't one you'd expect to come from one to rule Hell. It was delicate and sounded innocent. Like the voice of a child, with the tone of a full-grown man.

Haily had to take a breath before answering his question. Despite his clear joy to see her and the delicate sound of his voice, she was frightened.

-I am here to rescue my mother. There has been a mistake when she died. She wasn't supposed to come here. I please you to let us go without further discussion.

Lucifer looked at her, clearly pained by her decision.

-Little angel, don't you see? This is not your mother. Your fallen angel disguise is blinding you. You need to see through it. You are not mean, nor bad. See through the evil, Haeilian.

She stepped back, surprised he knew her name. But was it really surprising coming from Lucifer himself? So she braced herself to face her mother, not quite sure why he asked her to do that. But you couldn't really fight Lucifer when he asked you something.

-Look inside yourself, Haeilian. An angel knows how to recognize the evil.

She closed her eyes, trying to find the part of pure angel still inside her. She remembered the face of her mother, the kindness in her eyes. A kindness she hadn't seen since she met her mother's eyes in Hell. She opened her eyes again to watch her mom closely. What she saw made her scream.

While she had been searching the pure part of her remaining in her heart, the stranger hiding under her mother's features had transformed back into its initial appearance. Haily's breath caught in her throat as she scanned over the person who had taken her mother's appearance.

-Anael?

The archangel looked at her, her eyes two burning flames. Haily stepped back as Anael tried to take her by the throat. The archangel then looked at Lucifer.

-You ruined everything! You are too evil to stay in charge of Hell. There is no good reason for Hell to exist in the First place! You cause the world to be full of hate and people to kill each other. It is not right!

Lucifer's face changed to reveal an angry look. He took one step forward, gently pushing Haily out of his way. The fallen angel gladly stepped back, not being able to do anything but look stupidly at the archangel who had taken her mother's features before.

As both Lucifer and Anael started an angry starring contest, Damon took Haily's arm to get her closer to Jeremy and him. He didn't have any confidence in those two.

-I don't think Father would appreciate your attempt to close one of his dimensions. How about we ask him?

Anael's face fell into a mask of terror. Lucifer took her by the arm and started to walk to a white fog behind his throne. Jeremy tried to go with them, but Haily took him by the arm.

-We can't go. Nobody is entitled to see His face. I don't even think Anael will survive it.

The new vampire turned around to look at her.

-Why did she even take your mother's face?

-I have no idea. But it must be a big plan of hers, because she had to show me this little scene a few times and that takes a lot of energy.

Haily stopped talking, falling in her thoughts. If it wasn't really her mother, it also meant that the story might not be true. Elijah had probably really killed her mother, just like she'd always thought. But the jade earrings were still a mystery. How did Anael find them? What did she want with them in the first place?

-Haily, I think now would be a good moment to get all "rawr" and do your fallen angel thing.

She turned around to Damon's voice and saw Lucifer's guards walk toward them. In the absence of their master, they must found the idea of killing the guests thrilling. Haily opened her wings wide, trying to scare them off, but they had seen other fallen angels because they simply kept walking.

-I think we will have to fight. Jeremy, stay behind us.

-Why? I'm a vampire now. I can fight!

-Because I don't want to have to bring your ashes to your sister.

-And because I really don't feel like seeing you die _again _in front of me.

With a pout, Jeremy got behind them. Haily searched deeply inside herself to find the power to fight the demons away. Damon tried to find weapons for them to use. He came up with very pointy stalagmites. Giving one to Jeremy, he kept the other for himself.

-Anyone has a plan?

-I take the 50 on the right side and you guys take the 50 on the left side…

-Sure…

Damon didn't say anything else as the guards got to them. Instead, he plunged his diamond stake inside the nearest demon. Said demon started to laugh, until the diamond stake split its heart in 2, killing him instantly. It fell to the ground, blood running out of his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Damon took out his stake and turned around to see how Jeremy was doing. Seeing the newly turned vampire was in a dangerous position, he started to go and try to help him, but a few new demons walked to him. He chose to scream directions to help the teen.

-Jeremy, stake them through the heart or cut their head off. It always works! Throwing them down in the magma should work too.

Jeremy took the older vampire's advice and cut 2 demons' head at the same time before plunging his own diamond stake in the heart of another. He then proceeded to take the homemade axe from the hands of one dead demon to kill another one.

Haily was flying over the crowd of guards, sometimes taking one up in the air with her before dropping it over the magma. It was quite easy the first few times, but she quickly got tired due to the weight of the demons and to the heat of the cavern. As she tried to take a new demon in the air, it took a hold of her left wing – burning its hand in the process – and threw her on the ground. Haily struggled to get up as its other hand took her by the throat. It lifted her and walked to the edge of the cliff. Haily could see the magma boiling far under her feet. She struggled, knowing she wouldn't be strong enough to fly up when it would throw her down.

Just as the demon was about to let her fall to her inevitable death, its hold faltered and it fell on the ground, dead. Jeremy was behind it, his fangs bared and his eyes red with bloodlust. Haily felt herself fall and gripped the first thing she could. It was one diamond on the edge of the cliff. He gripped it as much as she could, but her hands were sweaty and the diamond was smooth. Her right hand fell from it. She was about to lose her grip when another hand took her forearm and lifted her back on the cliff. She looked at the one who had saved her and her "thank you" got stuck in her throat.

In front of her, Gabriel had his enormous wings opened and he glowed into the dim lit cavern.

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><p><em>Okay, who knew Haily's mom wasn't really Haily's mom?<em>

_I want to read your ideas about how you think this fanfiction should end (will probably happen in 3 or 4 chapters). Maybe you'll get your wish ;)  
><em>


	12. To be or not to be

_New chapter is up! A little bit smaller, but it's almost the end. Another 2 chapters and it should be done. Enjoy while it lasts, because the ride is almost over._

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><p><span>Chapter 11: To be or not to be<span>

Once they were safely on the ground, Gabriel let go of her. Haily stood beside him, watching as the fight between Lucifer's guards and her friends stopped. All the guards retreated at once, leaving Damon and Jeremy alone. They were both breathing fast and making sure no guard was trying one last move against them.

Haily ran to the vampires to make sure they were okay. Both had small injuries that were healing quickly, but nothing major.

The angel heard Lucifer's voice behind her. She turned around to see him come back from the fog he had earlier disappeared into. Anael was nowhere in sight, as she'd suspected.

-Gabriel, what a surprise. What are you doing here, my dear brother?

Damon and Jeremy looked at Haily with interrogation marks in their eyes. She dismissed their questions with a movement of the hand. They would deal with the archangels genealogy later.

Gabriel looked at her with a pained expression.

-I heard what Anael did. I am here to make sure Haeilian is safe.

-Well she is, as you can see. I was about to send her back home, now that she and her friends are done down here.

Gabriel nodded, never leaving Haily out of his sight.

-Brother, would you mind if I talk with her before you send them back?

-Of course not, go ahead.

As he was told, Gabriel walked up to Haily and put his hands on her forearms.

-May I?

Haily nodded, not quite sure what they were doing. As soon as she put her hands in the same way Gabriel had, she felt herself change back to her regular angel form. Her wings were back to being full of feathers and she didn't have black veins running under her skin anymore. A sigh escaped her mouth as she felt the dark link relating her to Jeremy fade. As a normal angel, no dark link could exist between her and someone else. They were both free now.

Preoccupied by the changes inside herself, Haily didn't realize they were flying. Gabriel had taken her far up in the cavern. Too far for any creature to hear them, even Lucifer.

-I have a proposition for you. Now that Anael is gone, I need a female archangel to watch over the good with me.

-What? Why? Lucifer is alone dealing with Hell.

-And God is alone dealing with Heaven. But they need two of us to maintain balance. One male and one female. It is balance in itself. Would you want to take this place?

-I don't know… I… This is so sudden…

-If you take it, you will be promoted as an archangel. This is a rare opportunity. It won't happen again.

-But if I do, I will have to leave the Earth. I won't be able to go back.

-No. You will have to say goodbye to the people you love. It is for the greater good. Being the archangels who maintain balance gives a lot of advantages in Heaven. It is your choice. Are you ready to leave your loved ones to help them in another way?

She looked back down. Was she ready to leave Jeremy, the guy she was in love with? They had been through so much together. Most of it was because of her, because of what she was. Now he was a vampire, thanks to her. She had made his world a whole lot more dangerous. But at the same time, she loved him so much. She had promised him they would try once they would get back home. The start of their love story was there, just waiting for them to get back in the real world.

Was she also ready to leave Damon? He had become her big brother, the one she could always count on. He was there through the best and the worst, always helping her out. She'd caused his world to change. She knew she'd awoken some deep part of him. The part that cared as a brother. He had made things right with Stefan, since she knew him. He had found true love in Elena. But he had also died to save her. He had been to Hell and had been tortured just to make sure she could find her mother.

The faces of Elena, Stefan, Katherine, Jenna, Alaric, Caroline, Tyler and Bonnie passed in her mind. Was she ready to leave them all for the greater good?

She looked back down once again. Jeremy and Damon were looking up at her. She couldn't see them clearly from where she was, but the distant image of the boys – the men – she loved the most looking at her to make sure she was alright got through her.

-I am sorry, Gabriel. I can't accept your offer. My place is on Earth, with my family. I need to protect them, and I can't do that if I'm busy saving the rest of the world.

Gabriel smiled sadly.

-I knew you would never agree.

-Then why did you ask?

-Because I hoped I would have you by my side. I never liked Anael. She has always been a little selfish and didn't quite understand her role. You get it all. You know what you sometimes have to do for others. You wouldn't let anyone die for you. You would probably kill yourself just to make sure no one would suffer. You and Elena Gilbert have a lot in common.

Haily smiled at that comment. Now that she thought about it, she had more in common with Elena than she used to think.

-And I don't think I need to worry about your safety on Earth. Mr. Salvatore should take enough care of you.

Without another word, Gabriel got them back with the others. Once on the ground, he kissed Haily's forehead before walking to the fog, where he disappeared.

Lucifer started to talk in latin, waving his hands in the air in front of him. After a few seconds, a door appeared. He gestured for Damon, Jeremy and Haily to go.

-This will take you back from where you are coming from. It was a pleasure seeing you here. Please don't come back soon.

They all smiled except Damon, who only eyed the fallen angel skeptically. Haily took him by the arm to make him walk through the door.

On the other side of the door was the river they had first stopped by. As soon as they stepped out, the door disappeared, leaving only trees and plants in sight. Jeremy looked at the angel.

-So, what's this brother thing between the Devil and Gabriel?

-All angels, fallen or not, are God's children. Fallen angels were once normal angels. Some, like Lucifer, were proposed to become fallen angels and work in Hell. Others became evil by themselves. Actually, the right term to describe Lucifer would be fallen archangel. He has the same rank as Gabriel in the hierarchy, but he works in Hell. That's all.

-Okay… I guess…

She started leading them back to the car. All their stuff was there, exactly as they'd left them.

As they got to the car, Damon looked up.

-We should get back home quickly, if we don't want emo kid here to burn when the sun rises.

Jeremy looked himself over, remembering he was still a vampire.

-Oh, right. I had forgotten…

They loaded the car and Damon sat behind the wheel, leaving Haily and Jeremy to sit together in the back. They would have a lot of explaining to do once they'd get home. In the meanwhile, he would just relax and enjoy the drive. It was all he needed after that kind of week.

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><p><em>I hope you liked this chapter. Don't forget to tell me what you think, because I can't know if you don't tell me.<em>


	13. Home sweet home

_After almost a month, here is the last chapter before the epilogue. I didn't receive a lot of reviews for the 2 last chapters I wrote, unfortunately. I hope that maybe this chapter will bring some reviews._

_For DE fans, this chapter contains a really cute DE moment. But since the story is all about Haily, I also have some JerHaily interaction that is definitely worth it!_

_ Enjoy!  
><em>

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><p><span>Chapter 12: Home sweet home<span>

Damon parked the car in the driveway. The boarding house seemed calm. Looking at the backseat in the rear view mirror, he saw Haily and Jeremy glued to each other. They'd fallen asleep before they had even passed the first city. A part of him wanted to let them sleep peacefully. After all, they had been through a lot in the past few days. But he was impatient to see Elena again. Those days far from her had felt like eternity to him.

With a shake, he woke Jeremy up.

-Come on, kid, we're home. Wake Haily up.

Jeremy nodded his head slowly, still getting out of sleep. Damon opened his door, letting him deal with a groggy and sleepy Haily. He decided that the luggage could be dealt with later. For now, he only wanted to see Elena.

As he was walking to the porch, the front door opened quickly. There she was, right in front of him. Within half of a second, Elena was in his arms. He took a minute to just feel her arms around his waist, her chest rising slowly as she was breathing, her head resting on his chest… He was back where he belonged, with her.

Haily woke up to the sound of Jeremy's voice. He was caressing her hair and talking slowly in her ear.

-We're home. Come on, I'm sure you can't wait to be back in your own bed.

She opened one eye.

-My own bed… That sounds appealing.

They both smiled before getting out of the car. Damon was already in the doorway, hugging and kissing Elena like he hadn't seen her in months. She would normally make a snarky comment about it, but they had been through Hell, literally. She could give them a few moments of peace. As of now, she had to take all of their stuff out of the car.

Damon had finally let go of Elena when Jeremy and Haily walked inside the house. Elena gave her a hug before turning to the newly turned vampire.

-Jeremy Gilbert, you owe me one serious explanation. What were you thinking, disappearing like that? I thought you were dead or something!

That last sentence made Haily and Damon look at each other nervously. The older vampire took Elena by the arm and motioned for her to sit with him on the couch. She looked suspiciously at all three of them. Damon started to talk first.

-We have something to tell you. While we were in Hell, we got ambushed. Haily was almost electrocuted to death. I got it easy, considering. Jeremy was the worst…

Elena looked at her brother. He seemed perfectly fine.

-He doesn't look wounded to me…

You could see in her face that she was trying to understand the situation, but her brain was blocking the obvious. Jeremy being a vampire wasn't possible for her. She wasn't able to make the connection so that those words would make sense together. Jeremy smiled sadly to his sister as he told her the unbearable truth.

-They had to make a choice. I didn't survive. Well, not humanely.

Her eyes opened wide as tears filled them.

-No… Not you, Jeremy.

She stood up to hug her little brother, who would now never be older than 17. After a moment, she turned back to Damon.

-How could you?

Haily decided she had to step in. She wouldn't let Damon take the blame for her choice. She had asked him to turn Jeremy.

-I did. I asked Damon to turn Jeremy because I couldn't live with the thought of him being dead.

Elena turned to her with rivers of tears on her face. Jeremy put a hand on his sister's shoulder to have her attention.

-I know it's not ideal, but it's better than having to bury my dead body, don't you think. Plus, I don't think they would have survived to come back if I hadn't helped.

-Don't take it too far, punk. I'm still more than 150 years older than you

Damon's intervention made the tension ease a little. At that same time, Stefan and Katherine came in the living room. Haily went to hug them, happy to see the other part of her family.

Jeremy sat in the living room of the Gilbert house. He had been home for a few hours now, but he still needed time to adjust to everything around him. The house didn't look nor smell the same to him as it used to. Things he had known his entire life felt new to him. Back in Hell, he hadn't had time to adjust to his new condition before he learned how to control himself.

Someone knocking on the door took him out of his thoughts. He stood up and walked slowly to the door. He had to watch his steps now, for if he walked too fast, he would only be a blur to the human eye.

The visitor was Bonnie. She took a shaky breath when she saw him. She held up a hand to touch his face, but he stepped back. She couldn't touch him, not yet.

-What's wrong?

He smiled silently and stepped aside so that she could come in the house. He closed the door and walked to the kitchen, making sure she was following him.

-I have to tell you something.

Bonnie eyebrow's furrowed as she tried to find what he could have to tell her that would require such a build up. She put her hand on his to show him he didn't have to worry about whatever he wanted to say. When her skin touched his, though, she froze. Jeremy was quick – too quick – to withdraw his hand, but she had already felt it. She opened her mouth, unable to form a single sound.

-I'm sorry. It was a matter of life or death. She chose to let me live.

-She?

It was the only sound that would come out of her mouth. She who?

-Haily. I was dying. She asked Damon to turn me instead of letting me die.

The witch became so angry, her eyes almost turned black.

-Where is she?

Her tone was impatient. Jeremy wasn't sure why she was so angry, after all he was still alive and he definitely wasn't planning on becoming bad anytime soon.

-At the boarding house, why?

Without another word, she walked out of the kitchen, toward the front door. Jeremy ran at vampire speed to block her way. She flipped her hand, making him fly directly on the wall of the living room. Realizing what she had just done, she turned to him, her eyes wide. Jeremy was speechless. She had just used her magic on him because he stood in her way? She had been on her way to the boarding house to do God-knew-what to Haily because the angel had asked for him to live?

-What is wrong with you?

She didn't answer, choosing to run out of the house with tears in her eyes instead. Jeremy didn't miss a beat, running out toward the boarding house in case she was planning to go there.

-I don't understand. Why would she do that?

Haily looked at him as if he was stupid.

-Maybe because she hates vampires and you became one. Or because Damon turned you. Or maybe because I was the one who asked Damon to turn you.

-What is wrong with you asking Damon to turn me? I was dying. You had no other choice.

She let out a laugh. Even as a vampire, Jeremy still didn't have a clue about feminine psychology. Some things just weren't made for men to understand.

-Maybe she just made the link that we were together in Hell, living things she couldn't even imagine. She knows I have feelings for you, Jer. It never was a secret that, even if I agreed for us to be only friends, I love you.

Jeremy was still processing what she had said about Bonnie's possible jealousy. He had never considered her to be the jealous type. After all, she had even started to become friend with Haily before their journey to Hell.

He looked up into Haily's eyes. There wasn't any dark link between them anymore, but he couldn't deny what he was feeling. They had been through so much together in the last few days that he was realizing their life wouldn't last forever. Even now, as he was a vampire and was – in theory – going to live for eternity, he understood how precious life was. With the way he now saw Bonnie, he wasn't sure they made such a good couple. She would be better off with a rightful man such as Matt. A guy who would never do anything wrong, who would never get on the bad side of the fence, was a better choice for the witch. As for himself, he knew that starting a relationship with an angel would be defying the laws of nature. But it couldn't be completely wrong, for they loved each other. That was the answer. He loved Haily, just like she loved him.

Stopping the tornado of thoughts rolling inside his head, he held up his hand to touch the angel's cheek. He let his hand slide behind her head, resting it on the nape of her neck. He looked at her lips and, as if on cue, she licked them. Slowly, Jeremy moved toward her, until there was only an inch in between their mouth. Haily let out a shaky breath, which only turned him on more as he finally crashed his lips on hers.

This kiss wasn't near as passionate or as forceful as the one they had exchanged in Hell. It was slow and filled with the love they had for each other. As he moved back to let her breathe, Jeremy knew that he wasn't meant to be anywhere but with his angel.

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><p><em>You read it, now if you could review it... I just want to know how you find the last chapterbefore the epilogue. Was the JerHaily kiss worth the wait?<em>


	14. Epilogue

___Here we are, the last chapter of this fic and of the serie. For the few of you who might have been following the adventures of Haily since the beginning, I hope you're satisfied._

_This last chapter is majorly from Elena's POV, because I wanted another character's reaction to JerHaily. I hope you aren't disappointed Bonnie and Jeremy aren't together anymore ( XD ). I could have been a lot worse with Bonnie, but I decided she was still worth hapiness._

_Well, enjoy this last chapter._

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><p><span>Epilogue<span>

Elena closed the trunk, turning around to the people she'd been used to live with everyday for the past year. Stefan and Katherine were exchanging saliva on the porch, barely leaving each other's lips for more than a millisecond. For a second, she wondered how they could breathe, before remembering they didn't have to. Alaric and Jenna were smiling at her, holding hands. Since Haily had brought the vampire back more than a year ago, the history teacher could barely let go of her. Tyler and Caroline were already on their way to Georgetown, where Caroline had been accepted. Tyler had only said that he would give everything up to follow her. Elena had no doubt he would try and compel some secretary to be accepted in too. Bonnie and Matt had moved to California a week ago to go to UCLA, where they both had been accepted. Elena hoped her best friends could find love with each other. It would be good for Bonnie to be with a normal guy and good for Matt to be with a girl who would love him entirely.

Damon was under the biggest tree with Haily, saying his goodbye. It had been the hardest decision for him to go to Berkeley with her. Richmond wasn't that far, but leaving Haily had been far from easy. Watching them from where she was, she could tell a part of him wanted to stay with the teenager he'd learned to consider as his little sister. Sometimes, he almost looked like a father to her. Seeing how close he was to the girl, Elena regretted he couldn't have children. He would have made a terrific father.

-I'm going to miss you.

She turned around to Jeremy, who held a picture he'd drawn of their entire "family". Elena smiled and took the picture, which almost looked like a photograph. She hugged her brother one last time with tears in her eyes.

-I'm gonna miss you too, Jer.

She heard the distinct footsteps of Damon's boots behind them. Her boyfriend's hand rested on the small of her back as she stepped back from her brother's embrace. Haily now stood beside Jeremy and her arm slipped under his, linking their fingers together. Damon looked at their hands for a moment before shifting his sight to the youngest Gilbert.

-You take care of her. I don't want to have to come back before the first college break to put a stake through your heart.

Elena shoved him a little.

-Watch out, Salvatore. It's my brother you're talking about.

Damon turned his head to her, making eye contact and looking at her through his lashes. Elena sighed as he bent down to kiss her.

-What were you saying?

She sighed once again and shook her head. If there was something Damon Salvatore was a master at, it was making her forget everything within a second.

They both sat in the car. As they drove away from the boarding house, Elena looked in the rear view mirror. Haily and Jeremy were kissing and backing up to the house, where she had no doubt they would end up in the angel's bedroom. She looked over to Damon, who was frowning as he also looked at them through the mirror. She smiled and took his hand.

-Stop worrying. They're teenagers. I don't remember being much older than them when you first came in my bedroom unnoticed.

-It's not... How do you know that?

-Damon, you might be very old, but there are a lot of things you still have to learn about women...

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><p><em>If you haven't reviewed yet since the beginning, or even if you have, please review this. I really want to know how you liked this fanfiction because it might be my last...<em>


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